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8tC.0CT  1880 

THMLOGItf&L, 


CONDITION  AND  CHARACTER 

OP 

F E Mi LES 

IN 

PAGAN  AND  MOHAMMEDAN  COUNTRIES- 


L I B R A.  K Y 

OF  I HR 

Theological  Seminary, 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


V*7'  -4, 

" . < **  *?• 


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prt«!y 

PBIHCETOK 

atc.oci 

THBOEOGIG^ 
COt^3CI®f;;4ff».eS*^!cTER 


FEMALES 

IN  PAGAN  AND  MOHAMMEDAN  COUNTRIES. 


[The  following  pages  contain  a simple  statement  of  facts,  which  have 
been  collected  from  the  writings  of  a large  number  of  authors. 
Their  truth  is  attested  by  men  of  different  characters  and  profes- 
sions— by  proteslants,  catholics,  infidels,  and  pagans — by  geogra- 
phers, travellers,  and  missionaries  ; who  all  agree  in  representing 
the  condition  of  the  female  sex  in  heathen  countries  as  degraded 
and  miserable  in  the  extreme.] 

It  is  difficult  and  perhaps  impossible  to  describe  the 
evils,  to  which  heathen  females  are  subject,  without  giv- 
ing pain  to  the  benevolent,  or  offending  the  pure  and 
refined.  But  the  truth  must  be  told.  The  remedy  can 
never  be  applied  till  the  disease  is  known.  The  sympa- 
thy that  hastens  to  relieve,  cannot  be  felt  till  the  misery 
is  seen.  The  Christian  charity,  that  smiles  compassion 
on  every  object  of  want  and  wickedness,  will  not  be 
made  to  act  with  its  full  and  proper  energy  till  it  sees 
the  pollution  and  guilt  of  the  600,000,000  of  souls  now 
buried  in  the  death-shades  of  heathenism.  Let  us  not 
then  shrink  from  the  contemplation  of  their  real  state, 
however  painful  it  may  be  to  behold  it.  We  shall  but 
see , what  they  endure. 

I.  Their  Condition. 

1.  They  are  despised.  The  heathen  female  is  viewed 
with  contempt  from  the  morning  of  her  existence.  The 
birth  of  a daughter,  in  most  unevangelized  countries,  is 
an  occasion  of  sorrow.  She  is  frowned  upon  by  her 
parents  and  relatives,  and  her  sex  is  often  a sufficient 
reason  for  putting  an  immediate  end  to  her  existence.(l)* 


* The  figures  refer  to  a list  of  most  of  the  writers  and  books,  on  whose 
authority  these  statements  are  made,  which  the  reader  will  find  on  the  last 
page. 


1 


2 


Bora  into  the  world  with  such  unpropitious  omens,  if  she 
is  permitted  to  live,  it  is  only  to  witness  the  gathering 
cloud  of  darkness  and  misery,  which  hangs  over  the 
whole  course  of  her  life.  Women  in  all  pagan  and 
Mohammedan  countries  are  regarded  as  inferior  to  men, 
and  made  to  he  subservient  to  their  wants  and  pleasures. 

In  some  they  are  considered  “a  necessary  evil,”  a dis- 
grace to  the  world,  unworthy  the  companionship  of  man. 
The  greatest  possible  insult  you  can  offer  a Mohammedan 
in  Persia  is  to  inquire  after  the  female  part  of  his  family, 
even  were  they  at  the  extremity  of  some  dangerous 
illness. (2)  Such  a contempt  for  the  female  character, 
and  such  an  opinion  of  the  design  of  woman’s  creation, 
are  sanctioned  by  the  Koran,  whose  doctrines  command 
the  belief,  and  determine  the  practice,  of  120,000,000  of  ' 
the  human  race. 

The  “ sacred  books  ” of  Hindostan,  whose  precepts 
sway  the  minds  of  its  100,000,000  of  inhabitants,  speak 
thus,  “ In  every  stage  of  life,  woman  is  created  to  obey. 
At  first,  she  yields  obedience  to  her  father  and  mother. 
When  married,  she  submits  to  her  husband.  In  old  age, 
she  must  be  ruled  by  her  children.  During  her  life  she 
can  never  be  under  her  own  control.”*  “ Women  have 
no  business  with  the  text  of  the  Vedu.  Having  there- 
fore no  evidence  of  law,  and  no  knowledge  of  expiatory 
texts,  sinful  woman  must  be  as  foul  as  falsehood  itself.”(3) 
Such  sentiments  are  not  confined  to  the  pages  of  their 
« sacred  books.”  They  live  in  the  heart,  and  govern 
the  life  of  every  Hindoo.  Facts  in  proof  and  illustration 
of  this  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

In  countries  where  no  “ sacred  books  ” condemn  the 
female  sex  to  perpetual  subjection  and  contempt,  they 
are  frequently  not  less  despised.  At  the  Society  Islands, 
before  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  they  were  held 
in  the  most  debasing  degradation  during  their  whole 
lives.  Men  were  considered  « rah,”  sacred,  while  women 
were  regarded  as  “ noah,”  impure,  or  common.  Men 
were  allowed  to  eat  several  kinds  of  meat,  cocoa  nuts, 
plantains,  and  other  articles  of  food  offered  to  the  gods  ; 
which  females  were  forbidden  to  touch  under  pain  of 


* How  different  the  precepts  of  Christianity.  See  Eph.  v.  25,  and  28 — 
30 ; 1 Peter,  iii.  7,  &c. 


3 


death.  The  fires  also,  at  which  the  food  of  the  men  was 
cooked,  the  baskets  in  which  it  was  kept,  and  the  houses 
in  which  they  ate,  were  sacred,  and  females  were  for- 
bidden to  use  the  former,  or  enter  the  latter,  under  the 
same  awful  penalty. (4) 

2.  Their  education  is  neglected.  This  is  true  of  every 
rank  and  in  every  country  where  the  Bible  has  not 
rescued  woman  from  her  degradation.  It  is  a natural 
consequence  of  the  contempt  in  which  she  is  held. 
Among  the  rich  and  the  poor,  in  the  families  of  princes 
and  of  peasants,  she  is  alike  ignorant.  Throughout  the 
whole  pagan  and  Mohammedan  world,  there  does  not 
probably  exist  a single  school  for  the  education  of 
females,  except  those  which  have  been  established  by 
the  efforts  of  Christian  benevolence.  In  Mohammedan 
countries  they  are  sometimes  instructed  in  embroidery, 
music,  dancing,  and  such  other  external  accomplishments 
as  may  serve  to  render  them  fitter  instruments  for  their 
masters’  pleasure  ; but  not  a thought  is  bestowed  upon 
the  cultivation  of  the  mind.  The  immortal  soul,  the 
never-dying  spirit,  is  utterly  neglected.  Reading  and 
writing  are  to  them  unknown. (5) 

In  Hindostan,  not  twenty  in  as  many  millions  are 
blessed  with  the  common  rudiments  of  Hindoo  learning. 

In  Ceylon,  when  the  American  missionaries  arrived 
there,  not  one  among  a population  of  200,000  could  read. 
The  cultivation  of  the  female  mind  is  thought  to  be  not 
only  vain,  but  dangerous  to  the  welfare  of  society  ; and 
the  direst  calamities  are  denounced  against  the  woman, 
who  may  aspire  at  the  dangerous  pre-eminence  of  being 
able  to  read  and  write.  It  is  supposed  that  the  employ- 
ments proper  for  woman  do  not  require  education.  She 
can  sweep  the  house,  cook  the  food,  collect  fuel,  wait  on 
her  lord,  and  feed  her  children  without  it,  and  having 
discharged  these  duties  with  fidelity,  the  whole  work  of 
life  is  accomplished. (3) 

A missionary  in  conversation  with  some  respectable 
natives,  who  were  anxious  to  have  schools  established 
for  boys,  told  them  that  the  Christian  public  were  desi- 
rous of  doing  everything  in  their  power  to  establish 
schools  for  the  instruction  of  girls.  The  oldest  and  most 
intelligent  of  them  replied,  “ What  have  we  to  do  with 


4 


them  ? Let  them  remain  as  they  are.”  The  missionary 
reminded  him  that  females  were  passing  into  eternity 
ignorant  of  the  way  of  salvation,  and  in  danger  of  per- 
ishing forever.  “ They  do  not  know  how  to  go  to 
heaven,”  replied  the  native,  u but  they  know  how  to  go 
to  hell,  and  let  them  go.”(6) 

3.  They  are  not  at  their  own  disposal  in  marriage.  In 
some  unevangelized  countries  they  are  betrothed  by  their 
parents  in  infancy,  or  childhood.  In  others,  they  are 
sold  at  a more  advanced  age,  at  prices  varying  according 
to  their  beauty,  or  rauk.  A Circassian  female,  fourteen 
years  of  age,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Cos- 
sacs,  being  told  that  she  was  to  be  set  at  liberty,  begged 
that  she  might  remain  in  confinement  where  she  was, 
because  she  feared  her  parents,  as  thousands  of  Circas- 
sians are  accustomed  to  do,  would  sell  her,  and  she  might 
fall  into  the  hands  of  masters  more  cruel  than  the 
Cossacs.(7) 

In  some  nations,  custom,  handed  down  from  generation 
to  generation,  till  it  has  become  as  strong  as  law,  forbids 
a woman  to  reject  proposals  of  marriage,  from  whatever 
man  they  come.  Whether  she  is  pleased,  or  displeased, 
she  must  leave  her  parents,  and  the  companions  of  her 
early  years,  to  drag  out  the  remainder  of  her  earthly 
existence,  in  subjection  to  the  authority  of  a tyrant,  whom 
she  cannot  but  loathe  and  abhor.(5)  In  Hindostan,  the 
greatest  possible  odium  is  attached  to  the  character  of 
any  female,  who  remains  unmarried  after  eleven  years  of 
age.  So  great  is  this  disgrace,  that  in  order  to  avoid  it, 
several  who  had  passed  that  age,  were  married  to  an 
aged  Brahmin,  when  his  friends  were  carrying  him  to  the 
Ganges  to  die  upon  its  banks.(3) 

4.  The  practice  of  polygamy  prevents  them  from  en- 
joying the  affections  of  their  husbands  and  the  happiness  of 
domestic  life.  This  practice,  destructive  as  it  is  of  all 
conjugal  felicity,  prevails  among  the  higher  ranks  in 
almost  every  pagan  and  Mohammedan  country.  It  is 
authorized  by  the  Koran,  which  permits  every  man  to 
marry  four  wives.  But  this  limitation  is  commonly  dis- 
regarded, and  the  rich  Mussulman  increases  the  num- 
ber according  to  his  wealth  and  inclination.  It  varies 
from  the  lawful  four,  to  the  three  hundred,  five  hun- 


5 


dred,  fifteen  hundred,  or  two  thousand  of  the  Grand 
Seignior.(8) 

In  Hindostan,  the  Kooleen  Brahmins,  who  are  consid- 
ered the  most  pure  and  holy  of  the  whole  Brahminical 
sect,  claim  as  a privilege  of  their  order,  the  right  to 
marry  one  hundred  wives.  Although  they  do  not  often 
exercise  this  right  to  its  full  extent,  the  number  of  their 
wives  is  frequently  not  less  than  forty  or  fifty. (9)  As 
in  Mohammedan,  so  in  pagan  countries,  the  number  of 
a man’s  wives  generally  depends  upon  his  disposition,  or 
ability  to  support  them.  The  evils  resulting  from  this 
unhallowed  practice  can  be  better  conceived  than  de- 
scribed. It  is  totally  destructive  of  domestic  peace,  and 
renders  every  female,  subject  to  its  influence,  an  object  of 
constant  and  bitter  persecution  from  the  other  wives  of 
her  husband,  or  a prey  to  the  devouring  envy,  hatred 
and  malice,  which  continually  rankle  in  her  own  bosom. 

5.  They  are  liable  to  be  divorced  by  their  husbands  at 
any  moment , and  left  •without  means  of  support.  In  Hin- 
dostan, the  husband  may  divorce  his  wife  at  pleasure. 
Says  the  “divine  Munro,”  “ The  woman  who  speaks  un- 
kindly to  her  husband,  may  be  superseded  by  another 
without  delay.”  He  has  only  to  address  her  by  the  title 
“ mother,”  and  the  marriage  covenant  is  dissolved. 
This  is  the  only  bill  of  divorce  requisite. (3)  When  thus 
cast  out  by  her  husband,  such  are  the  customs  ofsociety, 
that  there  is  no  employment,  by  which  she  can  gain  an 
honorable  livelihood. (10)  In  other  countries,  divorce  is 
equally  easy  to  the  husband,  and  extremely  common. 

6.  Among  the  higher  ranks  in  Mohammedan  and  partially 
civilized  pagan  countries , they  are  secluded  from  the  society  of 
men.  In  Hindostan  and  China,  the  wife  of  a man  of  rank  and 
wealth  is  continually  secluded,  and  closely  guarded.  She 
is  never  permitted  to  eat  with  her  husband.  She  never 
mixes  with  company,  even  at  her  own  house ; and  is 
never  seen  abroad  with  her  husband,  unless  on  a journey. 
A Hindoo  female  seeing  a European  lady  walking  arm  in 
arm  with  her  husband,  exclaimed  in  the  utmost  astonish- 
ment, “ Oh ! ma  ! what  is  this  ? Do  you  see  ? They  take 
their  wives  by  the  hand,  and  lead  them  through  the 
streets  without  the  least  shame  !”(1) 

In  the  houses  of  the  higher  class,  the  harem,  or 
1* 


6 


women’s  apartment,  is  literally  a prison.  It  is  usually  so 
situated  and  constructed,  that  the  inmates  can  neither  be 
seen  from  without,  nor  enjoy  any  prospect,  but  that  of 
an  adjoining  garden,  which  is  surrounded  with  lofty 
walls.  It  is  never  entered  by  any  male  except  the  hus- 
band. The  wife  is  seldom  permitted  to  go  abroad  ; and 
never  without  being  concealed  in  a close  carriage,  or 
having  her  face  so  enveloped  that  she  could  not  be  re- 
cognized even  by  the  most  intimate  friend.  If  she  does, 
it  is  at  her  peril.  Says  Col.  Phipps,  an  English  gentle- 
man, in  an  address  before  the  church  missionary  society, 
“ In  Alexandria,  [Egypt]  I have  seen  a Turk,  at  mid-day, 
in  the  open  street,  cut  off  a woman’s  head  for  no  other 
reason,  than  because  he  saw  her  without  a veil,  and  her 
person  was  not  concealed  in  her  cloak.” 

The  strictness  with  which  the  inmates  of  the  harem 
are  guarded,  may  be  learned  from  the  following  particu- 
lars respecting  the  women  belonging  to  the  seraglio  of 
the  Grand  Seignior  of  Turkey.  “ Whenever  they  go 
abroad,  which  is  very  seldom,  a troop  of  black  eunuchs 
convey  them  to  the  boats,  which  are  enclosed  with  lat- 
tices and  linen  curtains  ; or,  if  their  excursion  is  on  land, 
they  are  put  into  close  chariots,  and  signals  are  made  at 
certain  distances,  that  no  one  approach  the  road,  through 
which  they  pass,  under  pain  of  death.  When  the  Sultan 
permits  them  to  walk  in  the  gardens  of  the  seraglio, 
they  are  cleared  of  everything  human,  and  a guard  of 
black  eunuchs,  with  drawn  sabres,  march  on  patrole.  If 
an  individual  is  found  in  the  gardens,  even  through  igno- 
rance, or  inadvertency,  he  is  iustantly  sabred,  and  his 
head  is  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  Grand  Seignior,  who  be- 
stows a large  reward  upon  the  guard  for  his  fidelity .”(8) 
The  same  spirit  of  jealousy  and  dark  suspicion,  which 
dictates  the  conduct  of  the  Grand  Seignior,  haunts  the 
minds  of  husbands  in  Mohammedan  countries  generally. 
In  some  it  is  common  in  the  lower,  as  well  as  higher 
ranks,  and  the  women’s  apartment  in  the  house  of  every 
poor  man  is  a harem  upon  a small  scale. 

This  close  confinement  and  seclusion  places  the  wife 
entirely  in  the  husband’s  power.  Whatever  abuse  she 
may  suffer,  there  is  no  one  to  redress  her  wrongs.  Says 
a traveller,  who  resided  for  a time  at  Constantinople, 


7 


w The  body  of  a young  woman,  of  surprising  beauty, 
was  found  one  morning  near  my  house.  She  had  re- 
ceived two  wounds,  one  in  her  side,  the  other  in  her 
breast;  and  was  not  quite  cold.  Many  came  to  admire 
her  beauty  ; but  no  one  could  tell  who  she  was,  no 
woman’s  face  being  known  out  of  her  own  family.  She 
was  buried  privately,  and  little  inquiry  was  made  for  the 
wretch,  who  had  imbrued  his  hands  in  her  blood. ”(1  1) 
The  Pacha  of  Acre  in  Palestine,  not  many  years  since, 
put  to  death  seven  of  his  wives  at  a single  time,  and 
with  his  own  hands. (7) 

7.  In  the  lower  ranks , and  in  barbarous  pagan  coun~ 
tries , they  are  compelled  to  perform  the  most  servile  and 
toilsome  labors.  In  Ceylon  a recent  traveller  was  sur- 
prised to  see  strong  and  healthy  men  engaged  in  wash- 
ing, ironing,  preparing  muslin  dresses,  and  other  similar 
employments,  while  slender  females  w'ere  passing  the 
streets,  carrying  heavy  burdens,  or  laboring  in  the  fields. 

In  China,  where,  on  account  of  the  vast  number  of 
rivers  and  canals,  more  business  is  done  upon  the  water 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world,  women  are  obliged 
to  perform  the  duties  of  boatmen,  in  addition  to  what 
are  considered  their  proper  employments  in  other  coun- 
tries.(12)  On  land  they  may  be  seen  performing  the 
various  parts  of  agricultural  labor,  frequently  with  an 
infant  on  their  backs  ; while  their  husbands  are  gaming, 
or  otherwise  idling  away  their  time.(13)  Barrow  asserts 
that  he  has  seen  the  wife  dragging  the  light  plough,  or 
harrow,  while  the  husband  was  performing  the  easier 
task  of  sowing  the  seed.  A Jesuit  missionary  assures  us, 
that  he  has  seen  a woman  and  an  ass  yoked  together  to 
the  same  plough,  while  the  inhuman  husband  was  guid- 
iDg  it  and  driving  his  team. 

What  labors  are  exacted  of  the  wife  among  uncivilized 
pagans,  let  the  reader  learn  from  one  of  their  own  num- 
ber, who  in  describing  her  own,  has  described  the  con- 
dition of  millions  of  her  sex.  A missionary  in  South 
America,  reproving  an  Indian  mother  for  the  destruction 
of  her  female  infants,  she  replied  with  tears,  “ I would 
to  God,  father,  I would  to  God,  that  my  mother  had  by 
my  death  prevented  the  distresses  I endure,  and  have 
yet  to  endure,  as  long  a?  I live.  Consider,  father,  our 


8 


deplorable  condition.  Our  husbands  go  out  to  hunt,  and 
trouble  themselves  no  farther.  We  are  dragged  along 
with  one  infant  at  the  breast,  and  another  in  a basket. 
They  return  in  the  evening  without  any  burden.  We 
return  with  the  burden  of  our  children  ; and  though 
tired  with  a long  march,  must  labor  all  night  in  grinding 
corn  to  make  chica  for  them.  They  get  drunk,  and  in 
their  drunkenness  beat  us,  draw  us  by  the  hair  of  the 
head,  and  tread  us  under  foot.  And  what  have  we  to 
comfort  us  for  slavery  that  has  no  end?  A young  wife 
is  brought  in  upon  us,  who  is  permitted  to  abuse  us  and 
our  children,  because  we  are  no  longer  regarded.  Can 
human  nature  endure  such  tyranny?  What  kindness 
can  we  show  to  our  female  children  equal  to  that  of 
relieving  them  from  such  oppression,  more  bitter  a thou- 
sand times  than  death  ? 1 say  again,  would  to  God  my 

mother  had  put  me  under  ground  the  moment  I was 
born.”(14) 

8.  They  are  held  in  the  most  abject  submission  to  the 
•will  of  their  husbands.  That  the  Mussulman  female,  im- 
prisoned in  the  harem,  must  be  subject  to  the  will  of  her 
master,  is  evident  from  what  has  already  been  said  ; and 
also  from  the  precepts  of  the  Koran,  which  directs  the 
husband  to  chastise  his  wife,  if  she  disobeys  his  com- 
mands. 

In  Hindostan,  women  are  required,  both  by  the  enact- 
ments of  legislators,  and  by  the  still  more  binding  pre- 
cepts of  religion,  to  be  held  in  the  most  complete  de- 
pression. The  Padma  Parana,  a book  which  is  regarded 
with  greater  reverence,  and  whose  precepts  are  more 
strictly  obeyed  by  many  a deluded  Hindoo,  than  is  the 
Word  of  the  everlasting  God  by  multitudes  of  nominal 
Christians,  speaks  thus — 4t  When  in  the  presence  of  her 
husband,  a woman  must  keep  her  eyes  upon  her  master, 
and  be  ready  to  receive  his  commands.  When  he  speaks, 
she  must  be  quiet,  and  listen  to  nothing  besides.  Wrhen 
he  calls,  she  must  leave  every  thing  else,  and  attend 
upon  him  alone.  A woman  has  no  other  god  on  earth 
than  her  husband.  The  most  excellent  of  all  good 
works  she  can  perform,  is  to  gratify  him  with  the  strict- 
est obedience.  This  should  be  her  only  devotion. 
Though  he  be  aged,  infirm,  dissipated,  a drunkard,  or  a 


9 


debauchee,  she  must  still  regard  him  as  her  god.  She 
must  serve  him  with  all  her  might,  obeying  him  in  all 
things,  spying  no  defects  in  his  character,  and  giving  him 
no  cause  for  disquiet.  If  he  laughs,  she  must  also  laugh. 
If  he  weeps,  she  must  also  weep.  If  he  sings,  she  must 
be  in  an  ecstacy.  She  must  never  eat,  till  her  husband 
is  satisfied.  If  he  abstains,  she  must  surely  fast ; and  she 
must  abstain  from  whatever  food  her  husband  dislikes. 
When  he  goes  abroad,  if  he  bids  her  to  go  with  him, 
she  shall  follow.  If  he  bids  her  stay,  she  shall  go  no- 
where during  his  absence.  Until  he  returns,  she  shall 
not  bathe,  clean  her  teeth,  pare  her  nails,  nor  eat  more 
than  once  a day.”(10)  By  these  impious  and  barbarous 
precepts,  and  others  of  a similar  nature,  the  Hindoo  hus- 
band is  guided  in  the  treatment  of  his  wife.  He  never 
speaks  her  name,  if  he  adhere  strictly  to  his  religion, 
but  calls  her,  “ my  servant,”  or  “ my  dog.”  Nor  may 
the  wife  speak  the  name  of  her  husband,  but  must  call 
him,  “ my  lord,”  or  “ the  master  of  the  house.”  She  is 
liable  to  chastisement  from  her  husband,  and  deems  that 
a happy  day,  in  which  she  escapes  his  cruel  scourge.(l) 
A native  convert  to  Christianity,  speaking  of  the  effect 
of  the  gospel  upon  his  conduct,  stated  as  the  strongest 
possible  external  evidence  of  his  conversion,  that  he  had 
entirely  ceased  to  beat  his  wife. 

In  Burmah,  the  wife  and  grown  daughters  are  con- 
sidered by  the  husband  and  father  as  much  the  subjects 
of  discipline  as  the  younger  children.  Hence  it  is  not 
uncommon  for  females  of  every  age  and  description,  to 
suffer  under  the  tyrannical  rod  of  those  who  should  be 
their  kind  protectors  and  affectionate  companions.(15) 

9.  Their  lives  are  not  valued.  In  Greenland,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  bury  aged,  helpless  females  alive.  An  Arab, 
in  the  north  of  Africa,  asked  his  wife  for  his  knife.  She 
replied  that  she  had  lent  it  to  a neighbor.  “ Do  you  not 
know,”  said  he,  “ that  you  have  no  business  to  meddle 
with  any  thing  belonging  to  me  ?”  She  acknowledged 
she  had  not,  confessed  her  fault,  expressed  her  sorrow, 
and  offered  to  go  immediately  and  bring  back  the  knife. 
He  replied,  u I will  see  if  I can’t  have  a wife,  who  will 
obey  my  commands  better.  I always  told  you  not  to 
meddle  with  any  thing  of  mine.”  He  then  levelled  her 


10 


to  the  ground  with  one  stroke  of  his  club,  and  continued 
his  blows  till  she  ceased  to  breathe.  Neither  man  nor 
woman  went  near  them,  though  her  cries  were  heard 
through  the  whole  tribe.  In  the  evening  the  neighbor- 
ing women  dug  a grave  scarcely  of  the  size  of  her  body, 
into  which  they  laid  the  naked  corpse  sideways,  trode  it 
down  with  their  feet  till  it  was  level  with  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  covered  it  with  a heap  of  stones.  The 
only  notice  taken  of  this  inhuman  deed  was,  that  the 
council  of  the  tribe  fined  the  murderer  four  sheep,  which 
he  was  required  to  cook  for  their  supper.  He  paid  the 
fine,  and  in  a few  weeks  married  again.(16) 

Col.  Phipps,  whose  name  has  been  already  mentioned, 
says,  “The  rich  and  powerful  in  Hindostan  not  unfre- 
quently  punish  the  females  of  their  families  by  causing 
them  to  be  sown  up  in  a sack  and  thrown  by  night  into  a 
river,  or  well.  1 have  seen  a rich  Hindoo  who  was 
known  to  have  destroyed  several  women  in  this  manner. 
When  the  magistrate  attempted  to  bring  the  wealthy 
culprit  to  punishment,  he  found  that  the  very  parents 
and  kindred  of  the  victims  had  been  bribed  to  depose 
in  a court  of  justice,  that  they  had  died  a natural  death. 
I have  seen  taken  out  of  large  wells,  several  human 
skeletons,  the  remains  of  murdered  heathen  females; 
and  I wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood,  that  what  I re- 
late are  facts,  which  have  come  under  my  own  personal 
observation.” 

Such  is  the  treatment,  to  which  woman  in  unenlight- 
ened countries  is  subject.  In  one  she  is  regarded  as  too 
impure  to  enter  the  dwelling  of  which  she  should  be  the 
brightest  ornament;  in  another  she  is  imprisoned  and 
guarded  like  the  felon,  or  the  murderer.  Here  she  is 
bought  and  sold  like  the  slave,  or  the  brute ; there  she 
waits  at  the  table  of  her  lord,  but  may  never  partake 
with  him  of  its  provisions.  Here  she  must  draw  the 
plough  for  her  unfeeling  husband  ; there  her  blood  from 
the  earth  proclaims  her  wrongs.  But  where — where  in 
all  the  pagan  and  Mohammedan  world — where  among 
the  600,000,000  of  our  race,  to  whom  the  Bible  is  un- 
known, is  woman  the  equal  companion  of  man  ? Where 
is  she  the  happy  wife  of  the  affectionate  husband?  Where, 
the  honored  mother  of  grateful  children  ? Ask  the  native 


11 


female  of  our  own  America.  You  have  heard  her  mourn 
her  unhappy  fate.  Ask  the  daughter  of  abused  Africa. 
Her  dying  shrieks  have  told  her  tale  of  wo.  Ask  the  isl- 
ands of  the  sea,  or  the  distant  East.  They  cannot  tell.  She 
is  every  where  despised,  neglected,  afflicted,  oppressed. 

II.  Their  Character. 

1.  They  are  destitute  of  female  delicacy.  In  many  of 
the  countries,  of  which  we  speak,  females,  as  if  it  were 
not  enough  to  be  destitute  of  those  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart,  which  are  the  peculiar  glory  of  their  sex,  disfig- 
ure their  persons  in  such  a manner  as  to  destroy  their 
native  beauty  and  grace.  They  seem  to  be  incapable  of 
distinguishing  between  beauty  and  deformity,  and  to  have 
lost  all  sense  of  female  propriety.  Proofs  of  this  are 
given  in  the  writings  of  almost  every  traveller,  who  has 
observed  their  customs.  Among  the  multitude,  which 
might  be  adduced,  let  one  or  two  suffice. 

At  the  Society  Islands  it  was  formerly  customary  for 
every  female  to  provide  herself  immediately  after  mar- 
riage with  an  instrument  having  rows  of  shark’s  teeth 
inserted  in  it,  with  which  they  cut  and  mangled  them- 
selves in  a most  horrible  manner  upon  the  death  of  any 
of  the  family;  striking  the  head,  temples,  cheeks,  and 
breast,  till  the  blood  flowed  profusely,  and  at  the  same 
time  uttering  the  most  deafening  and  agonizing  cries. 
This  was  their  mode  of  expressing  intense  joy,  as  well 
as  grief.  Their  amusements  were  not  more  becoming 
the  female  character.  One  of  these  was  wrestling,  in 
which  females,  even  of  the  highest  rank,  engaged  not 
onlv  with  one  another,  but  with  men,  and  in  the  presence 
of  thousands  of  spectators  of  both  sexes. (4) 

To  describe  the  intolerable  filthiness  of  their  dwel- 
lings and  food,  and  their  want  of  personal  cleanliness, 
would  be  a disgusting  task.* 

2.  They  are  superstitious.  This  is  a natural  consequence 
of  their  ignorance.  In  Hindostan  nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  to  see  females  measuring  the  distance  from 
temple  to  temple  by  prostrating  their  bodies  at  every  six 
feet;  suspending  themselves  by  hooks  thrust  through 
the  muscular  parts  of  their  backs  ; and  in  a thousand 


# Let  the  reader  who  would  know  more  of  this,  consult  Stewart’s  Journal 
at  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Harmon’s,  or  Lewis  and  ClarlAs,  among  the  North 
American  Indians,  &c. 


12 


ways  tormenting  themselves  to  obtain  the  favor  of  their 
gods.  “ As  I was  walking  out  on  a certain  occasion,” 
says  an  American  missionary,  “ I saw  two  women  in  the 
middle  of  the  road  rolling  through  the  mud,  which  was 
then  about  a foot  deep.  Upon  my  approaching  them  and 
inquiring  their  object,  they  replied,  ‘ we  were  sick,  and 
vowed  to  our  god  that  if  he  would  make  us  well  we 
would  roll  to  his  temple.’  After  expostulating  with  them 
some  time,  I was  obliged  to  leave  them,  sick  and  weak 
as  they  were,  to  their  infatuation,  just  at  night,  with  three 
fourths  of  their  journey  still  before  them,  and  with  a 
strong  probability  of  their  perishing  before  the  night 
should  be  far  advanced.  Proceeding  a few  steps  I met 
a Brahmin,  and  pointing  to  the  scene,  expostulated  with 
him  for  keeping  the  females  in  such  ignorance  and  in  the 
practice  of  such  superstitions,  appealing  to  his  conscience 
that  he  knew  better.  He  coldly  replied,  ‘Ah,  let  them 
alone,  let  them  alone,  that’s  worship  just  suited  to  their 
capacities.’  ”(1) 

Their  superstition  and  ignorance  render  them  the 
dupes  of  the  most  detestable  and  wicked  impositions 
from  their  impious  priests,  the  Brahmins.  Among  them, 
as  among  the  ancient  Israelites,  barrenness  is  regarded 
as  a calamity,  and  deliverance  from  it  is  often  the  sub- 
ject of  prayer  to  their  gods.  There  are  temples,  the 
deities  of  which  are  believed  to  have  power  to  remove 
it.  Applicants  are  told  by  the  Brahmins  to  remain  in  the 
temple  during  the  night,  performing  their  devotions;  and 
that  if  their  worship  is  accepted  they  will  be  visited  by 
the  god.  They  return  home  without  the  least  suspicion 
of  the  horrid  deception  practised  upon  them  by  the 
Brahmins,  supposing  that  they  have  had  intercourse  with 
the  deity  of  the  temple.  At  other  temples  the  same  boon 
is  promised  on  conditions  still  more  degrading  and  mon- 
strous. At  these  temples,  during  the  festival  months, 
there  is  one  vast  scene  of  impurity  and  wickedness.(lO) 

3.  They  are  generally  guilty  of  the  transgression  of  the 
seventh  commandment.  It  is  needless  to  dwell  upon  this 
topic.  To  assert  the  truth  is  scarcely  tolerable  to  a 
mind  of  delicacy  and  refinement.  Yet  let  us  listen  for  a 
moment  to  what  men  of  undoubted  veracity  have  said 
upon  the  subject.  “ It  is  a fact,”  says  Rev.  Mr.  Ward, 
“ which  perplexes  many  of  the  well-informed  Hindoos, 


13 


that  notwithstanding  the  wives  of  Europeans  are  seen  in 
so  many  mixed  companies,  they  remain  chaste,  while 
their  wives,  though  continually  secluded,  watched,  and 
veiled,  are  notoriously  corrupt.  I recollect  the  observa- 
tion of  a gentleman,  who  had  resided  twenty  years  in 
Bengal,  and  whose  opinion  on  such  a subject  is  entitled 
to  the  highest  regard,  that  ‘ the  infidelity  of  Hindoo  wo- 
men was  so  great  that  he  scarcely  thought  there  was  an 
individual  among  them,  who  had  always  been  faithful  to 
her  husband.’  A Brahmin,  who  would  be  far  from  dis- 
paraging his  country,  affirmed  that  ‘he  did  not  believe 
there  was  a single  female  in  the  large  cities  of  Bengal, 
who  had  not  violated  the  laws  of  chastity.’  ” 

But  in  violating  the  laws  of  morality,  they  act  in  per- 
fect obedience  to  the  dictates  of  their  religion.  Many 
of  the  gods  of  India  are  gods  of  impurity.  The  practice 
of  this  vice  constitutes  the  essence  of  their  worship,  and 
their  temples  are  brothels.  In  consequence  of  their 
being  married  in  childhood,  thousands  of  Hindoo  females 
are  left  in  widowhood  at  an  early  age.  Both  law  and 
public  opinion  take  from  them  all  means  of  supporting 
themselves  in  respectability.  Driven  to  desperation  by 
the  miseries  that  overwhelmed  them,  hundreds  have 
heretofore  thrown  themselves  upon  the  funeral  piles  of 
their  deceased  husbands.  The  fate  of  the  surviving 
widow  is  often  worse  than  death.  She  can  never  marry, 
although  her  husband  may  have  died,  when  she  was  a 
mere  child.  She  must  remain  in  cruel  bondage  to  her 
sons,  or  her  husband’s  relations.  Many,  rather  than  en- 
dure the  obloquy  and  servitude  of  widowhood  among  their 
friends,  resort  to  the  only  means  of  procuring  support  in 
their  power,  and  obtain  a miserable  subsistence  by  pros- 
titution. This  mode  of  securing  a livelihood,  among  these 
blinded,  degraded  beings,  is  honorable  in  comparison  with 
widowhood;  and  widows  generally  give  themselves  up 
to  this  sin  in  order  to  avoid  disgrace  !(1) 

4.  They  are  “ without  natural  affection.'1'’  “ The  very 
periods,”  says  a well  known  missionary,  “when  the  in- 
fant of  the  Christian  mother  is  to  her  an  object  of  intense 
solicitude,  and  of  the  deepest  anxiety,  times  of  sickness 
and  distress,  are  those  when  the  heathen  mother  feels 
that  in  her  child  she  has  a care  and  a trouble,  which  she 
2 


14 


will  not  endure.  She  stifles  its  cries  for  a moment  with  her 
hand,  hurries  it  into  a grave  already  prepared  for  it,  and 
tramples  to  a level  the  earth  under  which  the  offspring  of 
her  bosom  is  struggling  in  the  agonies  of  death.''^  17) 

At  the  Society  Islands  two  thirds  of  the  children  were 
murdered  in  infancy.  Some  mothers  had  thus  consigned 
to  the  grave  five,  six,  eight,  or  even  more  of  their  off- 
spring. u 1 do  not  recollect,”  says  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis,  “ meet- 
ing with  a female  in  the  islands  during  the  whole  of  my 
residence  there,  who  had  been  a mother  while  idolatry 
prevailed,  and  had  not  imbrued  her  hands  in  the  blood  of 
her  offspring.”  A similar  statement  is  made  by  another 
missionary,  who  had  spent  thirty  years  on  the  islands.(4) 

In  India  the  frequent  transgression  of  the  sixth  com- 
mandment results  from  the  disregard  of  the  seventh. 
Mothers  add  to  the  sins  already  mentioned  that  of  de- 
stroying in  the  bud  the  fruit  of  their  crimes.  Not  only 
the  numerous  widows  in  that  country,  but  also  wives 
procure  abortion.  Some  are  accustomed  to  do  it  annu- 
ally. “ The  Pundit”  [teacher]  says  Mr.  Ward,  “ who 
gave  me  this  information,  supposes  that  10,000  infants 
are  thus  murdered  in  the  province  of  Bengal  every 
month  ; appealing  in  support  of  his  opinion  to  the  fact 
that  many  females  are  tried  for  these  offences  in  the 
courts  of  justice  in  every  zillah  of  Bengal,  and  that  it 
was  so  common  an  event  that  every  child  knew  it.”  In- 
fants are  also  destroyed  by  offering  them  to  the  Ganges; 
burying  them  alive ; suspending  them  in  baskets  on 
trees,  where  their  lives  are  ended  by  the  attacks  of 
ants,  and  birds  of  prey;  and  by  exposing  them  to  be  de- 
voured by  crocodiles,  jackals,  and  tigers. 

In  China  this  practice  is  little,  if  at  all  less  common. 
In  the  city  of  Pekin  so  great  is  the  number  of  infants 
exposed  by  their  unnatural  mothers,  that  a person  is 
employed  by  government  to  go  through  the  streets 
every  morning  with  a cart,  and  gather  up  the  children 
thus  exposed,  and  cast  them,  the  living  and  the  dead 
without  distinction,  into  a large  pit  appropriated  to  this 
purpose. 

Pause  now  for  a moment,  reader,  and  reflect  upon  the 
condition  of  300,000,000  of  your  fellow  beings,  designed 
by  their  Creator  to  belong  to  the  fairest  and  loveliest 
portion  of  the  human  race.  Behold  them  despised, 


15 


oppressed,  and  sunk  down  in  pollution  and  guilt.  Com- 
pare their  situation  with  the  happy  lot  of  the  Christian 
female;  and  while  you  rejoice  in  the  superior  character 
and  privileges  of  the  latter,  remember  that  “it  is  by  the 
prevalence  of  the  gospel  alone,  that  man  learns  to  attri- 
bute to  woman  an  origin  as  high,  a value  as  precious, 
a destination  as  lofty,  and  a duration  as  endless,  as  his 
own.”  The  respect,  the  intelligence,  the  purity,  and 
the  every  blessing  of  the  Christian  female,  it  is  in  the 
power  of  the  gospel  to  bestow  upon  her  sister  in  hea- 
then lands.  We  know  this  from  its  effects  in  ages  past. 
The  females  of  Greece  and  Rome,  1800  years  ago,  were 
in  many  respects,  regarded  and  treated  as  are  those  of 
Turkey  and  Hindustan  at  the  present  time.  Impurity 
and  infanticide  were  common  among  the  former,  as  well 
as  the  latter.(18)  Heathenism  in  every  age  and  every 
country  is  essentially  the  same.  But  wherever  the 
elevating  and  purifying  influence  of  Christianity  has  been 
diffused,  it  has  rescued  woman  from  her  degradation  and 
wickedness,  and  made  her  blessed  and  a blessing.  Mark 
upon  the  map  of  the  world  those  countries  where  the 
Bible  is  known,  and  you  mark  at  the  same  time  the  only 
nations  in  which  the  rights  of  woman  are  regarded. 

We  know  it  also  from  what  it  is  now  doing  among 
some,  who  were  lately  sunk  in  the  deepest  degradation 
and  wickedness.  Tahiti,  one  of  the  Society  Islands, 
affords  an  instance.  The  commencement  of  the  year 
1815,  is  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  that  island  by 
changes  in  society  affecting  the  intellectual,  religious, 
and  domestic  character  of  its  inhabitants  generally,  but 
especially  of  the  females.  The  withering  influence  of' 
idolatry  began  to  decline  and  give  way  to  the  humaniz- 
ing, elevating  power  of  Christianity.  The  food  was  no 
longer  regarded  as  sacred,  nor  the  fires,  as  hallowed. 
In  sickness  and  distress,  the  mother,  the  wife,  the  sister 
and  daughter,  were  no  longer  neglected.  The  cheerful 
hearth,  the  family  board,  and  domestic  altar,  began  to 
diffuse  their  life-giving  joys.  Instead  of  cruelty  and  con- 
tempt the  utmost  tenderness  is  now  manifested  by  the 
husband  and  father  towards  his  wife  and  children.  When 
the  family  carry  their  produce  to  trade  with  vessels,  the 
first  choice  among  articles  purchased  is  given  to  the 
children,  the  next  is  allowed  to  the  wife,  and  the 


16 


husband  takes  for  his  portion  whatever  may  remain. 
The  female  now  enjoys  the  pleasure  resulting  from 
culture  of  mind,  ability  to  read  the  sacred  Scriptures, 
and  write  her  native  language.  Having  become  a pro- 
ficient in  needle  work,  she  has  laid  aside  the  native 
dress,  consisting  merely  of  a piece  of  cloth  loosely  thrown 
about  the  waist,  and  adopted  the  European  style.  Bar- 
barous and  masculine  amusements  are  exchanged  for 
visits  of  mercy  to  the  sick  and  dying.  The  cruel  man- 
gling, dishevelled  hair,  and  savage  yell,  are  superseded 
by  the  solemn  prayer,  and  the  funeral  procession.  The 
mild  influence  of  Christianity  has  effected  the  entire  abo- 
lition of  infanticide,  and  revived  the  parental  affection 
and  tenderness  originally  implanted  in  the  human  bosom. 
The  mother,  who  had  been  guilty  of  destroying  her  help- 
less offspring,  may  now  be  seen  coming  into  the  place  of 
public  worship  with  her  little  babe  in  her  arms,  gazing 
with  evident  tenderness  upon  its  smiling  countenance,  or 
reading  and  explaining  the  Word  of  God,  and  kneeling  in 
prayer  with  those  children,  who  but  for  the  gospel  would 
have  been  ushered  into  eternity,  ere  their  playful  smiles 
had  won  the  affections  of  the  parent’s  heart. (4) 

This  instance  proves,  as  do  many  others,  that  the  gos- 
pel is  to  the  heathen  female  “glad  tidings  of  salvation” 
for  two  worlds.  It  delivers  her  from  present  oppression, 
and  from  coming  wrath. 

We  see  then  the  disease ; and  we  know  the  remedy. 
We  see  the  cup  of  almost  unmingled  bitterness,  of  which 
these  unhappy  beings  are  compelled  to  drink — we  see 
them  degraded  too  low  to  partake  of  intellectual  and 
spiritual  enjoyments,  and  like  the  brute  creation,  deri- 
ving pleasure  only  from  the  indulgence  of  sensual  appe- 
tites. We  know  that  Christianity  can  break  the  iron 
yoke  of  their  bondage,  and  dissipate  the  darkness  of 
their  ignorance.  It  can  raise  them  up  from  the  pollu- 
tion and  wickedness  in  which  they  are  plunged,  and  bless 
them  with  all  the  dignities  and  enjoyments  of  their  sex 
in  Christian  countries. 

[Authorities.  1.  Rev.  Mr.  Bardwell.  2.  Sir  R.  K.  Porter.  3.  Rev.  Mr.  Ward. 
4.  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis.  5.  Shoberl.  6.  Lond.  Miss.  Register.  7.  Rev.  Dr.  Clarke.  8. 
Edin.  Encycl.  9.  Rev.  Dr.  Buchanan.  10.  Abbe  Dubois.  11.  Lady  Montague. 
12.  Mr.  Wood.  13.  Sir  G.  Staunton.  14.  Cecil’s  Miss.  Sermon.  15.  Mrs.  Judson. 
16.  Capt.  Paddock.  17.  Rev.  Mr.  Stewart.  18.  Rev.  Dr.  Ryan.  19.  Barrows.] 


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